BECKER, Karl Ferdinand (1804-77). A German writer on music, and organist. He was born in Leipzig. He was made professor of organ-playing at the Conservatory in 1843, but resigned in 1856. Among his works on the history of music, which place him in the same rank with Kiesewetter and Winterfeld, the most important are: Die Hausmusik in Deutschland im16. 17. und 18. Jahrhundert (1840); DieTonkünstler des 19. Jahrhunderts (1847). He was also among the most active contributors to the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.